Good news for Dell Streak owners in the UK: O2 is pushing out an update to Android 2.1 (Eclair) next month! Unlocked devices are expected to receive the update as well, which bodes well for Streak-ers in France, Germany, and maybe even the US.
Engadget Mobile got an exclusive preview of the upcoming firmware and confirms all kinds of extra goodies in addition to the standard 2.1 features. Highlights include:
- Redesigned keyboard without the number pad. Don't forget that you can still use a different keyboard if you don't like the new one.
- Pinch zooming in Google Maps.
- Redesigned phone dialer app.
- Redesigned camera user interface.
- 720p video recording.
The bad news is that the update to Android 2.2 (Froyo) won't be hitting the UK in September as originally promised.
How any of this affects the US remains to be seen, but here's hoping that we won't have to wait much longer to find out.
Thanks, X-Man!
NICE.
btw, I called it in my previous comment…
(all I said is they must be coming out with Eclair not Froyo, as that’s what Kevin Andrew was working on in the July 20 video.)
http://www.streaksmart.com/2010/08/dell-streak-slowly-disappearing-from-company-website.html
well this is good but dell is still silent maybe by the 8th we will hear something?
wait so 2.1 and 2.2 is said to be coming next month sept??
Next month is September. Highly doubt they’d release 2 OSes in the same month.
Well, this COULD mean that the delay is to make sure Eclair is ready for instant update at the time of release so that they don’t get bad reviews based on Donut, I suppose. However, that would suck if it means the release is delayed until next month for it.
Does this excite me? Yes, does it also irritate me? Slightly. Is it a step in the right direction? Indeed. Does is mean North American’s know anything about maybe when we will see one here, fuck no. I am honestly thinking of paying the extra 150 to 200 bucks to buy an unlocked one from the UK, I give a US release date 2 weeks and I’ll buy the UK version. Question, will the unlocked UK version have any problems with 3g on Rogers/AT&T?
yes! yes!yes! this is freaking awesome! m so ready to get my dirty and rob it around this gergious streak! yummy yummy! in my handny!
I understand you are excited but what in the hell are you talking about?
Currently Dell has more luck than brains. (what brains?!)
A Galaxy S with a front camera unlike the Captivate, any other option like a Samsung 5″, or even more info on the Scorpion 1.5Ghz (!) and no-one would even remember what a Streak is.
Sheer luck so far.
Hi Jen – a question please.
How do these official updates work for unlocked devices?
In other words … how can one such as yourself – working with it in a different country – get a hold of it?
Thanks!
It should just be available when manually checking for updates via the Settings menu. Either that or the file will be uploaded somewhere for manual update. I will sell the UK version once the official US version comes out, though, so I may never get to find out first-hand how the update will work for people using the UK Streak outside of the UK.
Would work with TMO not ATT
So the very usable keyboard goes for one with fewer features, the media app gets dumped for the standard Android one with fewer supported formats and they’re changing the lock screen too? Are there going to be any positives in going to 2.1 because at the moment I’ll be staying with 1.6 based on what I’ve seen so far…
This is hilarious, 2OS in 1 month? This whole fiasco deserves its own TV show untitled “Dell, Streakdumb!” . and since we’ve all been part of this comedy we deserve FREE Streaks…
Happy Days! Finally a word on software update and getting rid of that horrible sesame street dialler with terrible unpredicability when against the face. Yay!
Read on Engadget that the Froyo update will not happen in Sept now.
Also, Marvin the Martian reports that Mars version of the Streak (in Mars Red, of course) already has 2.1. He will be using Google Navigation to find and conquer Earth, now that he can better text important strategy updates to his assistant (dog).
Ok…..U.K got the initial release.
And then they got the Red colour
And then they got the accessories price reduced
And now they are getting O.S update
Tomorrow
So when the hell would U.S get it and when will Australia get it
SINCE 2.1 is deployed in September in the UK
AND U.S. Streak will only be releases with 2.1 pre-installed
THEN
U.S. STREAK WILL BE AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER!
Thx Jen for the quick reply!
If I ever get that device (naturally only with 2.1+) – I will have that problem – holding a US device and living in Canada.
And sorry for managing to twice misspell your name Jenn. My apologies.
Why assume that?
Perhaps 2.1 is being loaded on new devices in the factory ready for US, while they work through the launch of an OTA update for the UK devices.
I was told by my Dell sales rep, they had a sales contest and 9 employees who sold the most product, would receive a Free Dell Streak.
Well, they won, and they were told 4-6 weeks before they get the Streak in house to give to them. That was this week.
When Engadget reviewed their Streak a couple weeks ago they gave it a 6. They say that they will NOT change ratings and that they are at the time of release. I pointed out the phone wasn’t released but it was a bit of semantics since it was set to be released that week (remember when it was supposed to come out in July?)
So… if the phone actually does ship with 2.1, I wonder if Engadget will revise their rating…
Knowing engadget, they will probably just do an whole new review.
Why assume Dell will have anything go smoothly?
I was told by my Dell sales rep that the Dell Streak is a figment of all our imaginations and we are hooked up to a collective dream machine like they did in the matrix. My point here is Dell sales reps, customer service reps, their programmers, and CEO are all idiots because none of them have gotten anything right so far aside from 1.6 upgrade to 2.1.
That bites. I’ll be at Dell HQ in a few weeks, and was hoping to, if not score a Streak, at least put my hands on one. Maybe they’ll at least have an engineering sample or two.
maybe if it was an apple product!
Does anyone know if the tmobile version will get the update? Its baseband ends in 00.
But those types of in-house employer promos are usually not the first in line to get new devices. I have a feeling the US Streak version will be announced within a week. It’s just a hunch.
fyi to everyone! dell.com/streak is no longer available. the sign up page has been pulled out already as i checked this morning. that only says one thing. the order page should be anytime soon. brace yourself streak fans. the wait may finally be over. oh hail the the mighty streak! here she come!! we welcome you with open arms!!
Sign-up page is still up on my side: http://app.dellhome.usa.dell.com/enroll/mobile/signup.cfm
Hi Jenn,
can you help me to understand this? I am from Germany and want an unlocked streak. 599€ is too much I think, but I could get one from the US as soon as it is launched there (550 $ = 420 €).
I now got the impression that the Hardware (UMTS/GSM bands) was different and therefore not usable for some networks.
But the specs on the German and the US site showed exactly the same bands:
UMTS 2100 / 1900 / 850 MHz
GSM / EDGE 1900 / 1800 / 900 / 850 MHz
HSDPA / HSUPA:HSDPA 7.2 Mbps / HSUPA 5.76 Mbps
Can you help me with that?
Thanks!
The signup page is still there, but http://www.dell.com/streak gives a 404 right now.
It seems like it would work, but I’m not 100% sure.
The bigger problem, however, is that the Streak may not be sold unlocked. Although early information indicated that it would be, everything since then has pointed to it being locked to AT&T.
BTW, that $550 price you mention was for an off-contract Streak, not an unlocked one.
TIMEOUT!!
Are you saying that if I got one from overseas, it would have 3G for T-Mobile?
T-Mobile has a great network where I live and I love their service. Are you serious about this?
How would I buy one from overseas?
Sorry Mrtonyp, Sam is incorrect. If you buy an unlocked Streak from Europe the best you’ll get is Edge on either AT&T or T-Mobile in the U.S. It’s a little confusing because T-Mobile exists in Europe as well.
That’s an interesting find Julian, I had to double check and Dell’s site for Germany does indeed list Bandbreiten:
UMTS 2100 / 1900 / 850 MHz
GSM / EDGE 1900 / 1800 / 900 / 850 MHz
HSDPA / HSUPA:HSDPA 7,2 Mbit/s / HSUPA 5,76 Mbit/s
My money is that it’s a typo, but if you feel like attempting a really expensive experiment you’ll have to let us know how it works!
720P recording… I took a risk getting it with 1.6, now the pay off has come. Glad I got it over the Galaxy S[Captivate]
I second.